Bird flu cases continue to be detected in live poultry markets in the city two months after the state temporarily shut them down to contain the virus.
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, which is deadly in birds and other animals but not known to be transmissible among humans, has been found in 15 live poultry markets operating across four of the five boroughs and 2 more in Westchester and Long Island since the February 7 directive, according to data kept by the state Department of Agriculture and Markets. In total, the virus has been discovered in 33 domestic flocks so far this year, more than double all cases previously reported in New York since the strain was first detected in 2022, the data show. When the virus is identified, the response is total extermination of the infected flock and a cleansing of the grounds.
Cases of bird flu have been rising throughout the United States in recent years, spread by contact with small mammals and wild birds, among which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider it rampant. While the virus is not easily spread to humans and almost always follows exposure at poultry or cattle farms, epidemiologists worry that if it does mutate to be transmissible, as viruses do, it could cause a widespread outbreak. The first known human death from bird flu occurred in January in Louisiana, according to the CDC. None of the 70 people infected to date were from New York.
The state announced the immediate closure of 80 live poultry markets in the five boroughs, Long Island and Westchester after the virus was detected in seven markets in the city within the first week of February. Those without a known infection were given three days to sell off their remaining birds, the rest were rapidly “depopulated” and quarantined. Officials at the time said the closure would last a week or longer. To reopen, markets had to be closed for a five-day cleaning and disinfection period and be approved by the Agriculture Department.
“These are just simply measured, common sense steps that will curb the spread of bird flu and ultimately to keep New Yorkers safe, which is always my top priority,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said at the time, noting there was no immediate public health threat.
By February 14, every market closed by the order had been inspected and cleared to reopen, said Department of Agriculture and Markets spokeswoman Hanna Birkhead. Since then, the ban has been lifted and the department has implemented new testing requirements for poultry entering the markets along with routine surveillance, she said. The infected birds in the city’s poultry markets were connected to flocks in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and elsewhere, she said.
The disease has rattled the poultry industry, which has had to wipe out 22 commercial and backyard flocks in the last 30 days, leading to the destruction of 390,000 birds, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The Department of Health, which is responsible for disease surveillance, referred inquiries about the markets to state Agriculture Department and did not comment on specific steps the agency was taking in response to the continued spread.
